Monday, December 7, 2015

Chocolate-Hazelnut Tart

Today I wanted to share with you all a great gift idea for the holidays + an amazing recipe via Sur la table. Zach got me a cooking class at Sur la table for my birthday, and we had such a blast at the Fall Baking Class! It's a great idea if you're looking for a gift activity instead of an item. They also have date night classes. We decided to do the baking class because I am always looking for new baking recipes to try. I keep bugging Zach to go to another class with me, it was so much fun! If you don't have a Sur la table near you, I'm sure you could find something similar! One of the things we made was this chocolate-hazelnut tart. When we made it in the class we actually used pecans instead of hazelnuts. Zach and I decided to remake this tart for Thanksgiving and we used hazelnuts (my favorite). Both were delicious! We were able to successfully remake the tart, which we were both happy about. Sorry I don't have more pictures of the process, but I'm including the detailed recipe. Happy baking!

Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/4-1/3 cup ice water

Filling:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

2 cups toasted hazelnuts, skinned, coarsely chopped

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor or large mixing bowl. By pulsing mix the butter with flour until the butter is the size of peas. Sprinkle ice water, a tablespoon at a time, over the flour mixture. Pulse or stir mixture until large clumps form. When enough water has been added to allow the dough to hold together, transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Press the pieces of dough together to form a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk about 6 inches wide. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling. You can also freeze the discs for up to 6 months!

Prehead oven to 375 degrees. You will need a 8 inch tart pan for this. (you could also make individual tartlets if you want using these). Generously flour work surface and place the chilled dough disk on the flour. Dust the top of the dough with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll chilled dough into circle, turning and flipping the dough as needed until it measures 14 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick. Starting at one end, roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer to tart pan. Gently press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan (let the extra hang over the sides). Cover the tart with parchment paper and add pie weights or baking beans, make sure the bottom and sides of the pastry are evenly weighted. Bake the tart shell for 15 minutes; remove the weights and parchment and bake for 5 more minutes or until tart shell is firm and lightly browned. Let cool.

Make the filling. Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, without stirring, until the mixture becomes amber color (330 degrees on a candy thermometer), about 9 minutes. Occasionally swirl the pan as needed to prevent crystallization of the sugar. When caramelization is achieved, reduce to heat to medium. Gradually whisk in the cream (the mixture will bubble and sputter so be careful). Stir until the caramel is smooth. Add butter, honey, vanilla, and salt. Stir well until blended. Mix in hazelnuts.

Place the baked tart shell onto a baking sheet. Pour caramel mixture into crust and bake until the filling is bubbling and golden, about 20 minutes. Cool completely on the rack. You can then gently cut off the extra pie shell so it perfectly fits the pan. You can do this with a small knife. Next, melt the chocolate on medium power in the microwave and drizzle on top. It's okay for it to get a but messy (see picture above). Allow chocolate to completely harden before serving. Slice the cooled tart and serve with whipped cream! It is very rich, so I suggest small slices.

Enjoy!

This is a perfect dessert for the holidays! It is relatively easy to make and so yummy. Let me know if you try it out for yourself!